Efficiency Ratings: Virginia

John Watson

03/01/2013

As the Blue Devils progress through the season there will be many different theories on how to measure team success. TDD has adopted the NBA Efficiency Formula to track Duke's top players and performances after each game and throughout the season.

A quick way NBA coaches measure a player's game performance is by evaluating his efficiency. In order to find a player's efficiency the following formula is used:

Who had the better game? Using the NBA formula player B, who hit five of eight shots and committed two turnovers registered a +20 efficiency total while Player A who missed 17 shots and had four turnovers had just a +11 rating.

LATEST GAME
Frustration seemed to be the name of the game on Thursday night for Duke as the Blue Devils were bullied from start to finish against Virginia. Mike Krzyzewski's team never took the lead, and made several plays that seemed to suggest the team was losing its composure. On the other side, UVa's Joe Harris had a career night to propel his team to a five point victory.

Notes: Duke got virtually no production from the power forward position with Josh Hairston and Amile Jefferson combining for just two points, two rebounds, and one turnover in 33 minutes of combined action. On the efficiency front, the two players combined for a +2 thanks to Jefferson's points and rebounds, and Hairston recording zeros in all categories aside from one turnover.

Similarly, backup point guard Tyler Thornton got into early foul trouble and played just 18 minutes before being disqualified. He missed all four of his shots and would have been on pace for his worst efficiency score of the season were it not for the off the ball production which included three rebounds and two assists.

Just one game after posting a career high in points and efficiency score, Rasheed Sulaimon's production fell off a cliff. The freshman was visibly frustrated and barked a the referees on multiple occasions. It seemed to impact his overall game as Sulaimon shot just 2-of-10 from the floor and committed three turnovers to just two assists. It resulted in a -1 rating in 36 minutes.

MEMORABLE SEASON PERFORMANCES
Throughout the season TDD will track the various highs and lows using the formula.

Ten Most Efficient Performances

Mason Plumlee v. NC State (+36)

Quinn Cook v. Clemson (+36)

Mason Plumlee v. Wake Forest (+35)

Mason Plumlee v. Florida Gulf Coast (+34)

Mason Plumlee v. Minnesota (+34)

Mason Plumlee v. Ohio State (+31)

Mason Plumlee v. Santa Clara (+30)

Mason Plumlee v. Boston College (+29)

Mason Plumlee v. Georgia State (+29)

Mason Plumlee v. Virginia Tech (+28)

Five Least Efficient Performances*

Seth Curry v. Miami (-8)

Rasheed Sulaimon v. NC State (-6)

Tyler Thornton v. Miami (-3)

Seth Curry v. Ohio State (-2)

Alex Murphy v. Florida Gulf Coast (-1)

Josh Hairston v. Georgia State (-1)

*- players must play at least five minutes or factor into the box score to be considered for per game E-ratings
SEASON EFFICIENCY RATING
Cumulative Season ratings for the Blue Devils. (E/game)*

Mason Plumlee: 636 (22.7)

Quinn Cook: 416 (14.9)

Seth Curry: 366 (13.6)

Rasheed Sulaimon: 317 (11.3)

Ryan Kelly: 229 (16.4)

Tyler Thornton: 177 (6.3)

Amile Jefferson: 175 (6.5)

Josh Hairston: 92 (3.4)

Alex Murphy: 54 (2.1)

Marshall Plumlee: -1 (0.1)

MOST EFFICIENT PER MINUTE
Cumulative Season ratings per minute for the Blue Devils. (E/minutes)

Mason Plumlee: 0.657

Ryan Kelly: 0.573

Amile Jefferson: 0.463

Quinn Cook: 0.444

Seth Curry: 0.437

Rasheed Sulaimon: 0.376

Tyler Thornton: 0.292

Alex Murphy: 0.290

Josh Hairston: 0.253

Marshall Plumlee: -0.022

SEASON HIGH/LOW PERFORMANCES
Tracking the most and least efficient performances by player

Mason Plumlee: 36/0

Quinn Cook: 36/3

Tyler Thornton: 16/-3

Rasheed Sulaimon: 26/-6

Ryan Kelly: 23/10

Seth Curry: 26/-8

Amile Jefferson: 16/0

Alex Murphy: 13/-1

Josh Hairston: 12/-1

Marshall Plumlee: 2/-1

Notes: The only drama remaining in the season ratings is the battle for sixth place between Thornton and Jefferson. The freshman closed the game slightly against UVa, and now sits just two points behind the senior despite playing 228 fewer minutes on the season. That difference in playing time accounts for the huge difference in per minute efficiency.

Sulaimon's huge drop off hurt Duke against the Cavaliers. Certainly the Blue Devils got nice production from Curry and Cook, but without a reliable third scorer, and without the ability to diversify the offense it was a doomed proposition to pull out a victory.